Ernst Solinger Family Collection
Scope and Content Note
This collection documents the experiences of members of the Solinger and Vogel families of Aschaffenburg, Germany with a particular focus on Ernst Solinger (1913-2008) and his wife Martha née Vogel (1917-2007). The materials are evenly balanced between two series, one containing solely personal correspondence and the other containing all other papers. The bulk of the correspondence in Series I stems from 1940-1942 and consists of letters sent between Ernst and Martha and Ernst’s parents Max and Else Solinger. Letters from Martha’s mother Sophie Henriette are also included in this series, as well as correspondence between various correspondents and Ernst and Martha or Max and Else Solinger. The materials in Series II include photographs, poems, vital records, and property and inheritance papers. Also included in this series are records of Ernst and Martha Solinger’s emigration, education, banking, and taxes, as well as their efforts to sponsor their parents’ emigration and their later restitution efforts on behalf of their parents.
Dates
- 1915-1998
Creator
- Seymour, Michael (Person)
Language of Materials
The collection is in German and English with a few documents in French and Spanish.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open to researchers.
Access Information
Readers may access the collection by visiting the Lillian Goldman Reading Room at the Center for Jewish History. We recommend reserving the collection in advance; please visit the LBI Online Catalog and click on the "Request" button.
Biographical Note
Ernst Solinger was born on March 2, 1913 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany to Max Solinger and his wife Else née Silberstein. He grew up in Aschaffenburg, where his father ran a men’s clothing manufacturing business. Ernst immigrated to the United States via England in 1939 and settled in New York, where he worked as a photographer. He later changed his name to Earl Seymour.
Ernst’s wife, Martha Vogel, was born in Aschaffenburg on July 24, 1917 to Max Vogel and Sophie Henriette Vogel née Bachrach. Martha left Germany for Paris, France and then immigrated to the United States in 1939. She and Ernst reunited in New York and married in February of 1941.
Once in the United States, Ernst and Martha made efforts to sponsor the immigration of Ernst’s parents Max and Else Solinger and Sophie Henriette Vogel to the United States, but they were denied visas. They then attempted to secure Cuban visas for their parents in 1941, but these efforts were likewise unsuccessful. By 1943, Max and Else Solinger had been taken to Theresienstadt. Although their exact fates are not known, Max and Else Solinger and Sophie Henriette Vogel perished in the Holocaust.
Ernst and Martha Solinger began claiming restitution for their parents beginning in 1948. Ernst reclaimed family property in Aschaffenburg between 1948 and 1950. Both he and Martha made restitution claims as the heirs of their parents, and at least some of these claims were successful.
Extent
0.25 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection documents the experiences of members of the Solinger and Vogel families of Aschaffenburg, Germany with a particular focus on Ernst Solinger (1913-2008) and his wife Martha née Vogel (1917-2007). Materials include correspondence, photographs, poems, vital records, property and inheritance papers. Also included are records of Ernst and Martha Solinger’s emigration, education, banking, and taxes, as well as their efforts to sponsor their parents’ emigration and their later restitution efforts on behalf of their parents.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into two series by document type in an effort to make it easier to locate materials. Series I holds personal correspondence organized alphabetically by correspondent, while Series II contains all other materials arranged chronologically.
Digitization Note
The collection was digitized in its entirety. Access to box 1 folder 8 is restricted due to privacy concerns. Researchers withquestions regarding suppressed materials may contact the LBI Archivist at lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org.
Processing Information
Materials were rehoused into acid-free archival folders. Materials that were already torn or otherwise badly damaged were placed in Mylar sleeves. Other wrinkled and delicate papers were flattened.
- Title
- Guide to the Ernst Solinger Family Collection 1915-1998 AR 25395
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Leanora Lange
- Date
- © 2013
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
- Sponsor
- Described, encoded, and digitized as part of the CJH Holocaust Resource Initiative, made possible by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
